OHMYGOSHSQUEE
May. 23rd, 2014 06:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladybug_archiveSo for a long time I've avoided season 1 of Mannix because it had a different format than other seasons. Mannix worked for a huge private eye company and his secretary Peggy wasn't there. And I'd heard that he had lots of conflict with his boss.
But finally, a couple of months ago or so, I decided that it was time to try it. And I was so surprised and amazed and in love! Mannix really doesn't have a bad relationship with his boss at all. They're close friends who respect and trust each other. Even when they disagree, it doesn't get really bad. I like to say they're like Kolchak and Tony without copious amounts of screaming. The actors are close friends in real-life, too, and it comes through in their characters. There's an interview with them on the first two discs and I adored it. Disc 5 features them giving commentary on an episode, and for just about the only time in my life, I had to listen. Usually I don't care about commentary tracks because I just wanna watch the episode or movie.
Well, so disc 1 instantly made me want more and moooore of season 1. Then I heard about a two-parter where the boss, Lew Wickershem, is acting weird because of taking pills that are causing bad side effects, and Mannix has to rescue him from the bad guys. That was disc 5, and I had to order it out of sequence. Usually I try to get the discs in order, unless there's something I have to see on a different disc.
The episode is Deadfall, and I just saw it early this morning. It's everything I'd hoped for and more! It's seriously like some of the fics I used to write. Lew is acting very neurotic because of the pills and starts treating Joe Mannix very nasty. Joe is hurt but doesn't know what's going on. Then Lew starts hallucinating, seeing a traitorous agent everywhere. Eventually he has a fight with Mannix, a real knock-down, drag-out physical beating for both of them, but he thinks he's fighting the traitorous agent. It's really sad and heartbreaking for both of them.
After the fight, Joe stumbles to the apartment of a girl involved in the case. He's dazed and hurt and says that even after it's happened, he still can't believe Lew attacked him like that. Then the girl calls the company doctor for him and the doctor realizes the pills are causing this. Joe instantly feels horrible and says he should have known Lew was sick. They'd been through so much together, so many wars, and they'd saved each other's life. And even though he's badly hurt, and doped up because the girl drugged his drink to try to keep him from leaving in his condition, he tries to leave to go find Lew because he's so worried about him. He collapses on the floor and can't go for a while.
Finally he wakes up and starts out looking. Meanwhile Lew was tricked into going to see the widow of the traitorous agent, only the agent is alive and he and his wife abduct Lew. There's an intense scene where Lew is trapped and hallucinating the agent laughing at him and saying that Joe would know what to do, but this is the first time Lew's been captured and he's panicking and doesn't know what to do. It's very interesting seeing what is quite possibly some of Lew's insecurities coming out like that. Then he hears a kitty meowing and finds a tunnel leading upward. He's able to make a grappling hook and climb out of there.
Eventually he finds out Joe was trying to save him and now Joe may be in trouble, so he goes looking for Joe and they meet up and attack some of the bad guys. Then Joe runs off in search of the traitorous agent, who's just shot somebody else, and ends up cornered with the guy going to shoot him. Lew shows up just in time and shoots the creep to save Joe.
The episode ends with Lew looking to Joe and saying he's sorry for hurting him earlier. He wonders where he's been, mentally, and Joe says he doesn't want to know. Then he collapses in Joe's arms and Joe is supporting him.
Squeeeee! So much wonderful friendship! I'm totally adoring season 1 and that's probably in my Top 10 of favorite episodes across all the seasons now. And I think since seeing disc 1, I've started to have a little crush on Lew's actor, Joseph Campanella. I want to watch the other series he starred in, The Bold Ones: The Lawyers. Cozi airs it. I need to catch an episode of it anyway because Darren guest-stars.
The only problem is, now I'm heartbroken over the fact that there's no more Lew after season 1. I got my season 6 set and I'm eager to start it, and I love Joe's friendship with secretary Peggy too, but gah, I wish Lew was still there. Even when they brought the actor back for a guest-spot, he didn't play Lew. And I don't think they ever mention the character after season 1, even though Joe does pay a couple of visits to the company to get information after he goes off on his own.
There's no way Joe would just forget about Lew. And I don't think there was some argument between them that led to his quitting the company for good. Even if there had been, they would have patched it up. So I insist on believing that Joe is still friends with Lew and sees him often, even though it isn't shown onscreen. And I think if I write Mannix fics, Lew will always be in them, even if I'm writing in the era when Joe has his own business.
It is such a shame that season 1 isn't more appreciated. It's even been left out of rerun packages of the series! This is a great treasure trove of awesomeness here. It should never be left out.
But finally, a couple of months ago or so, I decided that it was time to try it. And I was so surprised and amazed and in love! Mannix really doesn't have a bad relationship with his boss at all. They're close friends who respect and trust each other. Even when they disagree, it doesn't get really bad. I like to say they're like Kolchak and Tony without copious amounts of screaming. The actors are close friends in real-life, too, and it comes through in their characters. There's an interview with them on the first two discs and I adored it. Disc 5 features them giving commentary on an episode, and for just about the only time in my life, I had to listen. Usually I don't care about commentary tracks because I just wanna watch the episode or movie.
Well, so disc 1 instantly made me want more and moooore of season 1. Then I heard about a two-parter where the boss, Lew Wickershem, is acting weird because of taking pills that are causing bad side effects, and Mannix has to rescue him from the bad guys. That was disc 5, and I had to order it out of sequence. Usually I try to get the discs in order, unless there's something I have to see on a different disc.
The episode is Deadfall, and I just saw it early this morning. It's everything I'd hoped for and more! It's seriously like some of the fics I used to write. Lew is acting very neurotic because of the pills and starts treating Joe Mannix very nasty. Joe is hurt but doesn't know what's going on. Then Lew starts hallucinating, seeing a traitorous agent everywhere. Eventually he has a fight with Mannix, a real knock-down, drag-out physical beating for both of them, but he thinks he's fighting the traitorous agent. It's really sad and heartbreaking for both of them.
After the fight, Joe stumbles to the apartment of a girl involved in the case. He's dazed and hurt and says that even after it's happened, he still can't believe Lew attacked him like that. Then the girl calls the company doctor for him and the doctor realizes the pills are causing this. Joe instantly feels horrible and says he should have known Lew was sick. They'd been through so much together, so many wars, and they'd saved each other's life. And even though he's badly hurt, and doped up because the girl drugged his drink to try to keep him from leaving in his condition, he tries to leave to go find Lew because he's so worried about him. He collapses on the floor and can't go for a while.
Finally he wakes up and starts out looking. Meanwhile Lew was tricked into going to see the widow of the traitorous agent, only the agent is alive and he and his wife abduct Lew. There's an intense scene where Lew is trapped and hallucinating the agent laughing at him and saying that Joe would know what to do, but this is the first time Lew's been captured and he's panicking and doesn't know what to do. It's very interesting seeing what is quite possibly some of Lew's insecurities coming out like that. Then he hears a kitty meowing and finds a tunnel leading upward. He's able to make a grappling hook and climb out of there.
Eventually he finds out Joe was trying to save him and now Joe may be in trouble, so he goes looking for Joe and they meet up and attack some of the bad guys. Then Joe runs off in search of the traitorous agent, who's just shot somebody else, and ends up cornered with the guy going to shoot him. Lew shows up just in time and shoots the creep to save Joe.
The episode ends with Lew looking to Joe and saying he's sorry for hurting him earlier. He wonders where he's been, mentally, and Joe says he doesn't want to know. Then he collapses in Joe's arms and Joe is supporting him.
Squeeeee! So much wonderful friendship! I'm totally adoring season 1 and that's probably in my Top 10 of favorite episodes across all the seasons now. And I think since seeing disc 1, I've started to have a little crush on Lew's actor, Joseph Campanella. I want to watch the other series he starred in, The Bold Ones: The Lawyers. Cozi airs it. I need to catch an episode of it anyway because Darren guest-stars.
The only problem is, now I'm heartbroken over the fact that there's no more Lew after season 1. I got my season 6 set and I'm eager to start it, and I love Joe's friendship with secretary Peggy too, but gah, I wish Lew was still there. Even when they brought the actor back for a guest-spot, he didn't play Lew. And I don't think they ever mention the character after season 1, even though Joe does pay a couple of visits to the company to get information after he goes off on his own.
There's no way Joe would just forget about Lew. And I don't think there was some argument between them that led to his quitting the company for good. Even if there had been, they would have patched it up. So I insist on believing that Joe is still friends with Lew and sees him often, even though it isn't shown onscreen. And I think if I write Mannix fics, Lew will always be in them, even if I'm writing in the era when Joe has his own business.
It is such a shame that season 1 isn't more appreciated. It's even been left out of rerun packages of the series! This is a great treasure trove of awesomeness here. It should never be left out.
